Forgotten Darkness
by StillSymphony
Summary: A jealous Unicorn Mare named Aurora becomes angered at how Twilight Sparkle becomes the new Princess instead of her. Once her friend gives her a jewel that will change the fate of how things are, she unwittingly releases a demon Alicorn that plans to take over Equestria. This is my first mlp fanfic so bare with me :)
1. Chapter 1

"Aurora! Aurora! Did you get the news?!" Blythe jumped up and down as she had gotten to her friend's house, knocking on the door "Aurora! Wake up! The festival in Canterlot has started and you're not even going to see it! Everypony is going to be there! Even Princess Twilight!"

Aurora lay quietly on the floor, her tail occasionally thumping on the ground "Pfft. Come back when you have some real news. I can finally have peace and quiet when everypony is out at the festival for "Her royal highness"...more like a royal pain in the flank!"

Aurora always had an attitude lately with the attention. The white mare always seemed to be in an iffy mood every time Princess Twilight was mentioned. She sighed and flipped her periwinkle and violet mane to one side, slowly getting up and then moving towards the door "I'm sorry Blythe but why should I be celebrating her? I should've been the Princess's student. I didn't even get a chance to impress her...and that half wit didn't even have her cutie mark before!"

She opened the door, her friend looking at her confused like. The earth pony looked kind of disappointed "So I guess you won't be there with me to enjoy it? I was just hoping you would get out of the house with me" Blythe patted her friend's back and trotted in, tilting her head "But if we stay here and make some sweet treats and tea, we could gave a party on our own!" Aurora smiled "That's the spirit! Come on! I think we can make some cupcakes!" Aurora always had a great fondness for her young friend. She was smart and pretty, brown coat with a light tan mane. It was braided but her tail was another story. It was short and choppy from an accident. And ever since that day for student searching, Aurora always seemed to find herself complaining to her about the new Princess

"Hey Blythe...you don't think I'm jealous of her do you?" Blythe had taken out the sugar and quickly set it down onto the table "Ummmm...no...maybe a little...but I still like you! There's nothing you can do about it anyways...there's no cure for jealousy..." She sighed "If only you were a high level unicorn. You could challenge the Princess for her worthiness and take her crown. Gah! But that was years ago! Before Celestia! I don't think that you'd be able to...besides, she's an Alicorn and you're a Unicorn..." Aurora smirked at this news she was given and chuckled, walking towards Blythe "I love the way your mind works sometimes...but since it was a tradition way before, she'd have to honor it because that's how new monarch's came in power!"

Blythe put her tail between her legs and backed away "Y-yeah...I mean, that's how she came into power. If you train a lot then you just might be more powerful than Princess Twilight Sparkle! But how exactly are you going to train without somepony figuring out what you're doing? The royal guard and other ponyfolk will know. The only place they don't fly over is the Everfree forest...I don't think you'll want to go in there..."

Aurora chuckled "If we sneak out of Canterlot without anypony knowing, then we can. We just have to figure out a good enough excuse..." Blythe looked away and then gave a little smile before pulling something out of her bag "The Crystal Empire! I'm researching the castle there! Everypony knows I'll be out there a lot and I can say that you're helping me!" Blythe jumped up and down happily while Aurora's mind started filling with ideas of how to defeat the Princess "Great! I'll just have to keep out of sight when you're gone!...And then what about Zecora? Doesn't she live in the Everfree forest?"

The brown-coated mare stopped bouncing long enough to look at her friend "Oh...I didn't think about that...Hmmm...I'll have to figure out where she is. Then We can put up a barrier which she cannot pass through that's big enough for you to train in...We can start tomorrrow although somedays I will be researching in the Crystal Empire, mainly in the dugeons and the rooms left over by King Som-"

Aurora cut her off before she could finish "Yeah, Yeah I can handle things all on my own. Then when I gain enough power, I'll challenge her and defeat her painfully...Then the crown will belong to me, the rightful Alicorn Princess of Magic!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Isn't this great Twilight? You finally have your own celebration for becoming a Princess! First a title and now this! Everypony important is here!" Spike exclaimed as he watched as the parade below the balcony marched on, loud music and pretty floats passed by with the performers doing their best for her.

Twilight Sparkle had been a Princess for a while now, enjoying ruling in her new castle with her friends. Since this was an official celebration, her friends had to watch from the crowd and the Princess had to smile and wave from within the castle.

She smiled at him and nodded, returning her focus back to the procession "I know but, it's just a little bit weird for me still. I haven't exactly become use to everypony bowing to me every time I walk by or even when they treat me with such respect. I'll get use to it eventually, just like the other Princesses" Of course there were always a couple of ponies who wanted her to fail, but she held her head up high "I remember when I became Princess Celestia's student, and I didn't know it would get me this far….but I did feel bad when the others were disappointed…..they didn't even get to impress her or anything….I wonder…."

Spike chuckled "I remember. That's when I hatched! Hah! I don't think you should think about it too much. Everything happens for a reason, just like Princess Celestia told you when you became a Princess. Let's just enjoy the celebration" 'Spike is right. Just enjoy it and be happy you're a Princess' "It's too bad Cadence can't see the parade. She said that there was excavation being done in the lower sections of the Crystal palace and she needed to supervise it before she came. I can't wait until she tells us what kinds of things are hidden! Even what King Sombra might have left"

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><p>"Miss Blythe, you must come with me back to Canterlot once you're done. Everypony will be there to see Princess Twilight!" Princess Cadence smiled at the small pony, motioning towards the door "Unfortunately I can't. I promised my friend after excavating I'll come back and we can hang out. Besides, I don't think you'll want to wait for me. This stuff can take a long time to get done, especially since we don't know how big the chambers are or even how many. It could be a few rooms, but it could also be a whole maze of things. But what I can assure you is that My hunch is always 100% accurate! We'll be done in no time!" Cadence nodded, walking towards the door "Well, what you do get done today will be enough. I want to make sure there isn't anything bad lurking down there. I also want to know about what he was keeping a secret behind these walls. All will be done in good time I suppose. I'll see you later then Blythe!"<p>

As the Princess left, she turned to her crew and motioned towards the wall. Since she had excellent hearing, through the thick stone walls she could tell that it was hallow and that there was something being hidden "Okay team! We have about a month to get through what I believe is 20 rooms! We must move slowly through each room to make sure that nothing is missed! Boys, go ahead and break the walls down!"

As the Unicorns started to break through, Blythe stood back and slowly thought about that morning. A few hours ago, she had to leave in order to get started on the excavation so they could make it on time. Aurora was sad to see her friend leave for the Crystal Empire but understood. 'Aurora has to find out where Zecora lives and roams anyways. She can't train when somepony could be watching her every move and tell Twilight Sparkle. I hope we get finished in time so I can see her!'

Just as she turned around, there was big crash and the ground rumbled. They had broken through 5 feet of stone wall and in the darkness; they could make out a spiral staircase heading down. She put on her hard hat and turned the light on before throwing a rock down. It didn't hit the ground for a while and a slight plunk of the stone could be heard "It's a long ways down there. I think we'll be done with the first room by the time Cadence comes back!"

The young mare happily looked down the hole, her smile wide and full of hope "I can't wait. I've been reading up on the stories of the Crystal Empire. There's a few things unaccounted the the deeper I dug. Apparently, King Sombra had secrets that he wouldn't let anyone know about. I bet its some sort of weapon we'll uncover! Oh this is so exciting!"

Blythe was the first to walk down the stairs, being extra careful in order to not slip or anything. She put one hoof down onto the first step before realizing it was okay "Single line. We have to be absolutely careful. These ruins don't look like they were used in a long time" It was a long ways once they reached the bottom which was a room itself, a few jars and pots scattered about. Since there was dirt build up, they would have to pick away and dust away the debris to make sure they weren't missing anything "This is it. The first of the rooms. Come on! Let's get started!"


	3. Chapter 3

Aurora, ever since Blythe had left that morning, had been wandering around the forest aimlessly for what seemed like hours to the white mare "Gah...If I were a magical Zebra, I wouldn't live this far into woods as creepy as this- Ahh! What was that?!" Aurora turned to see a small vine gently swaying against her white coat. She had left the minute Blythe did and now she regretted it, the dark, menacing forest creeping up and seeming to watch her every move, even if the light illuminating fro her horn was the brightest it could be.

Just as she was about turn around and run for her life, she tripped on a tree root and fell head first, the light gone. She rolled for a while, getting hit and covered just in about everything imaginable "Neehhhhh..." She whimpered as she stopped "I'm going to have multiple baths when I'm done...All I can say is she better be close..." Aurora was on her back in the mud surrounded by darkness. the tiniest rays of light came from the sun which peaked through the leaves of the trees, barely enough to see anything. She stood up, rethinking this whole situation "Maybe we can start later...I can't think right now...not when I'm dirty and...and..." She became fully aware of her surroundings, cringing a bit "...I don't know where I am..." Cautiously, she sniffed the air and stood up, letting the glow on her horn return so she could see where she was going at least.

Clearing, she could see, was not too far away from where she was and she slowly walked towards it, wondering if that's what she's been looking for this entire time "I hope this is it. I don't want to walk another few miles just to get lost or eaten..." she stumbled through the under growth and landed against a huge tree, a door and windows peeking through it "Wait...this is it? I though it would've been hidden..." she turned to observe the scene, glaring at the trail that lead towards the clearing "Great...now I know why they made that". It was somewhat sunnier there. She could see clearly and make out the shapes that lead into the darkness of the forest "I wonder why she lives all the way out here...its kind of scary and unsettling but I'm not one to judge" she heard a door open and then close, prompting her to run away and hide.

There was Zecora with a bag leaving her house down to the trail. She seemed in a hurry too "I wonder if she's going to the celebration too...probably..." After the female Zebra left, she used her horn to cast a spell "Darkness of the night, hidden secrets in the trees, let this wall separate, keeping this Zebra from roaming free!" As soon as she said those words, what seemed like an invisible force traveled around a section of where the tree was situated and then ran towards the trail. It covered the entire thing, making a huge part of the Everfree forest inaccessible to the Zecora.

She smirked to herself and ran down the trail back to Ponyville "Now all I have to do is catch the next train home and then me and Blythe will start to figure things out! Perfect!" She barely caught the train to Canterlot and boy was it packed. She found a seat way in the back, sitting down as even more ponies got on at each stop just to see Twilight Sparkle "They're wasting their time"

When she got home, she walked into her house, seeing Blythe relaxing from a hard day's work by eating a snack and reading a book "Hey Aurora! you took longer than me to finish. We already uncovered a huge room! There were a few notes here and there as well as the remnants of where the servants once stayed. They seem like journal entri-! Oh my Celestia! What happened to you!?" She noticed the looked on her friend's face, making her look down and gasped. She was completely covered in grass, dirt, and dust "Ah...Umm...yeah...I fell down and its a long story" The brown mare stood up and ushered her friend to the bathroom "I should say! You need a bath now! Just because you're going to train doesn't mean you should get dirty" Aurora shook her head and chuckled "I'll be fine. You go finish the baking. I can take care of myself for now. By the ay, Zecora can't interfere with my training now even if she wanted to. She can't go into some parts of the woods. Anyways, I'll go take a shower now!" Aurora was happier than ever, skipping towards the bathroom.

As she soaked herself in the warm water, she couldn't help but think about what things she would do. She had to figure out spells that would counter Twilight's Alicorn magic and most importantly, make sure they were strong enough to defeat her. The more thoughts that flooded into her mind, the more worried she got about actually failing 'Everyone will stop talking to me...they'll probably laugh at me and then banish me...I can't help but worry...That's why i must try my best at this to make everything go as smoothly as possible...' She dunked her head underwater, letting her mane wash out as it pooled around her, light pink eyes peering out 'I'll be fine. I have to faith in myself more than anyone else has to, even Blythe...' she snapped out of it when she heard a gentle tapping on the door "Aurora, the baking is done...and, well, I know everyone might not agree with what you're planning, but you have my support. Besties for life remember? I have faith in you" Aurora smiled to herself and stood up, ready to take on the challenge before her


	4. Chapter 4

_"Mama, do you think the princess will like me?" Aurora smiled, jumping up and down happily. The young filly was waiting for her turn, half nervous and half excited "Of course she will! You're smart, pretty, and you have your cutie mark. You're going to nail this" just as her mother said that, Princess Celestia stepped out from the room, everypony bowing to her "I bear great news! Let it be known right now that Twilight Sparkle shall be my new student!"_

_All the young colts and fillies looked at each other in confusion, and then to their parents to which they ran up to talk to the Princess "Princess Celestia, we shouldn't be too hasty. What about the others? Our foals haven't even had the chance to show you what they've got" she thought for a minute "I've seen what other ponies haven't been able to achieve today. Twilight Sparkle is the student I've been looking for. I see greatness in her, and the others I see greatness in as well, but with all due respect, I must decline all other auditions...I have made my mind. I don't want to disappointed her when she's still fresh from hearing such great news. You understand when you see the one don't you? I went on my instincts"_

_Everypony in the room looked sad, even Aurora who had practiced for ages "I understand. Thank you for at least taking the time to see our foals" Aurora looked confused as she looked up at her mother and then to Celestia who returned to the room. Just as she left, she could see a glimpse of the chosen pony's face, embedding it into her mind "Never forget..."_

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><p>"Never forget alright!" She slammed a beam of magic at a nearby tree, making it topple over and crash "Celestia made up her mind before anypony else had the chance! And it was all because of that no-talent pony!" She shot another beam at the same tree, making it burst into flames "I could've been the new Princess. Twilight Sparkle didn't even have her cutie mark! And she seemed more clumsy than the other ponies! What could she have possibly done that was so fantastic?!"<p>

For weeks now, Aurora had been practicing and training, starting off with weak spells before moving onto the harder and stronger ones. It was pure strength and integrity that pushed her, making her capable of using different spells at the same time and even spells she knew Twilight hadn't even known. She trained until her hooves could no longer hold her up and her horn was sore from spell casting. But this was becoming serious for her. It was like she was training to defeat Princess Celestia herself. Blythe on their hand didn't mind hanging out less and less with her either. This was something Aurora had to do to prove her point "I just wish she didn't work herself so hard. She could injure something..." She tried for the most part not to get in the way of her friend but it was so hard when she came home exhausted and hurting. Yet, something told her that Aurora must do this alone without anyone doubting her, especially her best friend.

One day as Aurora left for her usual work out, she noticed Blythe wasn't moving to go to the train station "You have to make up an excuse on your own. I'm working from here today. So far, I noticed there are a lot more chambers than we originally thought, extending way under ground. We've only covered the first floor. And we've recovered some artifacts so they told me to read up on the history of the Crystal Empire. You better get going. The challenge is only week away and you need to practice and then rest. Off you go then" Aurora tilted her head "Alright then. I'll see you as usual. Bye!"

Blythe watched her leave for a moment or two before retuning to the book she was reading "I've gone through these so many times and they're the oldest books I could find that date back to King Sombra's rule. There's nothing that tells of why he built an underground castle" It was common knowledge that King Sombra burned all of the books. Even the ones written secretly were burned by somepony. She sighed, closing the book and turning to her side, seeing the fragments of letters recovered from the excavation "I know I promised the team...but I just have to!" She began to read them but all of them just were letters to family and about how terrible King Sombra was. But one of them was interesting. "Dear Starlett Rose, his treasure never leaves that room. Only certain servants are allowed in, one of them being me. All is good, but I fear for our safety the more possessive he becomes. Today he nearly killed a servant for just trying to look inside. Its like someone is driving him to insanity" the note was burned at insanity. She tilted her head "Treasure?! Is this the lead we've been looking for?! So he's hiding some sort of treasure down there! He probably didn't want anypony to steal it so he made a maze! That explains everything except...what was so important about it?"

The brown mare flicked her tail in frustration. Something was special about it. What was so important? She just had to know, even if it killed her she would find out. She stood up and put the note in her pack and took the rest of notes with her that she didn't read, running done to the train station to tell her team the good news.

Aurora came back to Canterlot station after realizing she forgot to grab her pack, bewildered when she saw her best friend rushing towards her "Blythe! What are you in such a hurry for?" She jumped up and down, pulling her aside "I have some great news! You know how we've been wondering what King Sombra might have built the underground castle for? Well, I know I promised the team I wouldn't read them without them but I was desperate for a lead so I took a peak and...ahhh! It turns out he's hiding some sort of treasure down there! I suspect it has to have something to do with the down fall of his rule and the disappearance of the Crystal Empire!"

Aurora, chuckled before nodding " That's great! But the tricky part is figuring out which hall they're talking about. You said there was a maze of rooms right?" Blythe smiled and jumped up and down before looking around for the train that went to the Crystal Empire "Its so exciting! I can just imagine me and my team finding even more secrets and adding it to the Equestrian History Museum here in Canterlot! The Princesses will be so thrilled...especially my so to be Princess friend" she gently nudged her side, Aurora blushing "You know it! My training is complete once I master this one last spell. Then I'll be able to take down Princess Twilight Sparkle once and for all. But I'll need a lot of sleep these next few days. I'll be back in 3 hours. I'll see you but first, I have to get my pack"

The white mare disappeared in the distance as the train for the Crystal Empire neared. Blythe boarded and sat down in the way back, going through the rest of the letters. Another one caught her eye this time "Once its worn, if the user's dream is strong, it will come true but destruction will soon follow through. Beware of the -" 'Hmmm its smudged...but the treasure we find. Is this what its talking about? It can't be...it just can't...but if its true then I have to take it directly to Princess Cadence' The more she read through the letters, the more excited she became. Soon the train was close so Blythe packed the letters away "Though it does make sense. That treasure probably made him become King and then destruction followed through by Celestia defeating him and making the Crystal Empire disappear..." The light brown mare got off and trotted all the way to the Castle, seeing her team in front finishing up from a hard day of work "Hey guys! I have some great news!"

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><p><strong>AN**

**Hey guys!**

**Its me! I know the last few chapters were shorter than this one but I'm working on making them longer. But this one I think most should be as long as this one. Also, reviews would be awesome. I hope you all love my story! Its my first so I was excited. Anyways, I have drawings of my OCs I'm going to post on my DA so you can get a better picture of what they look like. Just stay tuned on my profile to see the link to my DA. For now, Peace out!**


	5. Chapter 5

The days before Aurora was supposed to challenge Twilight Sparkle dwindle, soon making the small mare crazy with frustration. Her training became unstable and the spells that she could use probably wouldn't even make a difference. She started to unwind from what she learned and the thought of failure scared her. She didn't want to be the laughingstock of all Equestria. The thoughts were making her focus on training hard. Blythe one day watched her train, tilting her heard to and fro as Aurora seemed to be getting the same spell wrong over and over again

"I don't want to seem mean or anything Aurora, but you should think about what this is doing to you. So what if you didn't get into the academy and get to be Celestia's apprentice. What is so important?" Aurora stopped dead in her tracks before turning around and starting to walk towards her "You don't get it do you Blythe? Twilight stole my chance at impressing the Princess, she the reason why most of us couldn't get into the Academy, and she got to be a Princess! What exactly did she do to deserve this? She didn't have her cutie mark, she only impressed her because of a rain boom that happened, and she didn't even have to try. The rest of us should have gotten an equal chance. All. Of. Us." Blythe nodded quickly, very scared right then "Yes, yes I understand now!...but if you want to be in top physical condition tomorrow, I think you should stop this and sleep. The best things come out of a good day's rest"

Aurora rolled her eyes "Whatever...let's just go so I can take the spell off. Zecora has been suspicious of why she can't enter this area now so the best we can do right now i-" she stopped at the sudden sound of whirring, the force field becoming visible now, her eyes widening "What? How did this happen?!"

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><p>Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened, stepping back from where she was standing "Whoa. It seems like somepony has put a force field around this part of the Everfree forest. Somepony didn't want you seeing something... I'll take down this force field now so you can go about your business and we can go investigate" she used a spell only an Alicorn could know. Soon, the force field was taken down and the Zebra could now roam around freely once again "A spell cast on me? Something is not right, something is unkindly. Only once you seek the deadly force, you can discover the the unkindly source" Twilight Sparkle then started to think "Huh...maybe you're right Zecora. Something isn't right here and we have to find out what it is. All we have to do is freeze whoever made the spell"<p>

Twilight sparkle smiled, her horn glowing again only to trace the magic back to whoever made it. "Once we do that, then it won't be so hard to find out whoever didn't want you to be in the forest!

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><p>Aurora sat down "I know I'm being a little bit passive aggressive but you would be too if you were stress out about defeating the one pony whose stood in your way" she sat down and sighed "We better get out of here now. Somepony has taken down the force field and I don't want anypony to know about what I did here these past few weeks" Blythe smiled "Okay! Let's go now and get you a dandelion and daisy sandwich and some sleep" Blythe walked towards the trail Aurora had made before she heard her struggling and grunting "Ah...um...Blythe...I'm kind of stuck...like frozen stuck" Blythe tilted her head and walked back over to her, pulling at her friend that was now stuck in a sitting position "Wha? What they hay happened to you?!" She grabbed her mane with her mouth and desperately started to tug at her mane as if she were going to move but she was as stuck as could ever be. She head butted her and that made her fall over but nothing seemed to make her move at all.<p>

"It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to do this Aurora. You're stuck and way too heavy for me to pull. Err...we need to figure this out and quick!" She said and started to push her towards the trail, only to hear some noises coming behind them. She started to hurry but the light brown made could only push her so much without hurting herself. Eventually, she collapsed onto her friend in exhaustion, panting from her activity "B-Blythe! Hurry! Somepony's coming! Get me out of here!" She squeaked but it was already too late for her. Twilight Sparkle and Zecora trotted through the opening, surprised when they found the two ponies on the ground "Its you two! What is the meaning of putting a force field around Zecora's house? What are you two doing"

Blythe looked down at Aurora and then back to Twilight and Zecora "It is a travesty when you don't listen to your Majesty" Aurora rolled her eyes "I would love to tell miss thinks-she's-all-that but I'm still frozen in place" Twilight was surprised by the unicorn's response but didn't flinch at all when she said it. She lifted the spell and Aurora got up, shaking the dirt off of her before positioning her self. She made herself seem much more intimidating than she would've been normally "Princess Twilight Sparkle, somepony's whose never been more unfit for her crown" she snarled, standing up straighter and growling at her "You are despicable...do you know why some ponies still think you're unfit? You're clumsy, you cause more trouble than needed, and, oh yeah! You don't even know the first thing about being Princess" Twilight backed away, readying for a fight "And what do you know? You're a unicorn making false accusations with knowledge you don't even have proof of" Aurora chuckled "Denying only because you know its true"

Zecora stepped forward "With what are you trying to prove? Perhaps you should say it and make the first move" Aurora flipped her mane back "Well then I will. You remember the auditions for the academy right? Its was you that stole the heart of Celestia. And what did you think happened to us? We didn't even have a chance to perform after you. We all wanted to get in and to impress her but no. The minute she saw you, we were all gone. But you don't deserve a thing. You don't deserve this crown, not your title, not even the attention of all the Princesses. Because I remember what happened that day. You and only you happened to perform during that rain boom. You were startled and your magic grew because of your reaction! And what if it didn't? Well we wouldn't be in this position right now." Twilight stepped forward and got into her face "What are you trying to say, Unicorn?!" Aurora pushed her away and snorted "I, Aurora Unicorn, challenge Princess Twilight Sparkle to a duel for the crown, the title, everything! For the reason as I see you unfit of being a Princess and ruling over everypony when you clearly didn't deserve it"

Twilight Sparkle looked at Zecora "Can she do this?" Zecora shrugged "If you want answers, seek the pony of the sun, for she can tell you and help you in a long run" Twilight nodded, looking back at Aurora "Okay fine Aurora. But don't be shocked when Celestia says you can't. Its not like you can actually do something like this" She smirked "How do you think Celestia and Luna came into power? Oh that's right, they defeated Discord and became rulers of Equestria. I'll see you in Canterlot with the Princesses at noon tomorrow. I don't want any mistake of anypony missing it" Twilight nodded "And l'll make sure of it too"

"Goodbye for now Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'll be seeing you shortly. Come on Blythe. I need food and sleep" Blythe looked back at the two ponies "Good bye your majesty" she said quickly and ran off to join Aurora "I don't mean to sound really negative Aurora, but an Alicorn's magic is very powerful" the white mare scoffed "Tell me something I don't know. I have a counter spell that cuts it's power in half, only known to some of the great ponies. And soon, I'll be one of the great ponies. I just have to hit her at her weakest point" she smirked, knowing exactly how tomorrow was going to go down


End file.
